Concentrated liquid diets are used for nutritional support of elderly people, hospitalized patients and the like. Therefore, concentrated liquid diets are required to contain nutrients such as proteins, lipids, glucides and minerals blended with a good balance.
On the other hand, in the case of patients prior to and/or following an operation, an element composition that provides energy and proteins for repairing the damaged tissue to be promptly supplied is desired rather than the nutrition balance. Nutrients available as an energy source include proteins, lipids and glucides, and proteins are readily utilized for energy subsequent to glucides. Thus, as a result of consumption of proteins as an energy source, deficiency in proteins may be caused which are required as components for the bodily reparative tissue, or required in an immunoreaction. As a fatty acid having an effect of suppressing consumption of such proteins as an energy source, medium-chain fatty acids have been known. In addition, medium-chain fatty acids are quickly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, and degraded extremely fast in the liver and energized. Therefore, it is believed that the energy can be supplied efficiently without allowing proteins to be excessively consumed as an energy source, if a large amount of a medium-chain fatty acid can be blended in a liquid diet.
However, fats and oils ingested in a large amount may, in general, lead to strain on the stomach such as heavy stomach feeling, and the medium-chain fatty acids may also induce discomfort of the upper abdomen such as heavy stomach feeling and irritation of stomach when a large amount is ingested at a single time. Therefore, a medium-chain fatty acid is not blended in a large amount. In fact, although a liquid diet blended with a triglyceride including a medium-chain fatty acid as a constitutive fatty acid was reported (Patent Documents 1 and 2), the amount blended therein is limited to a low level. Thus, development of a concentrated liquid diet that contains a large amount of a medium-chain fatty acid, and that is less likely to strain the stomach has been desired.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2001-245633
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-136318